Houston Grand Opera Presents Verdi's 'A Masked Ball'

Making her role debut as Amelia is 26-year-old soprano and former Houston Grand Opera Studio member Tamara Wilson. Mexican tenor Ramón Vargas returns to Houston Grand Opera to sing Riccardo. Making their Houston Grand Opera debuts are Italian baritone Carlo Guelfi as Renato, Polish contralto Ewa Podleś as Ulrica and Russian soprano Lyubov Petrova as Oscar.

American bass-baritone and current Houston Grand Opera Studio member Ryan McKinny sings Samuel, and Russian bass and former Houston Grand Opera Studio member Nikolay Didenko sings Tom. A Masked Ball is conducted by Houston Grand Opera Music Director Patrick Summers. Olivier Tambosi directs. Sets and costumes are designed by Frank Philipp Schlössmann. Brian Byrnes is the fight coordinator. Richard Bado is the chorus master.

A Masked Ball will be performed in Italian with English surtitles.

About the story:

King Riccardo—secretly in love with Amelia, the wife of his chief minister and friend, Renato—is planning a lavish masked ball. Riccardo is reviewing the guest list when he learns that the fortune-teller Ulrica has been banished for evil practices. Riccardo invites his courtiers to go with him to see whether Ulrica is guilty.

In disguise, the king arrives before his courtiers and is surprised when Amelia comes to speak with Ulrica. He hides and overhears her ask Ulrica's help in banishing her illicit love for Riccardo. The fortune teller tells Amelia she can be cured by a magic herb growing at the foot of the gallows; she is to pluck it herself at midnight. Amelia hurriedly departs as the courtiers arrive. Riccardo steps forward and asks Ulrica to read his palm. When she says he will die by the next hand he shakes, he laughs it off and clasps Renato's hand.

Riccardo follows Amelia to the gallows at midnight and declares his love. Amelia quickly hides her face with a veil when Renato rushes in to warn the King that would-be assassins are approaching. When Renato discovers that the veiled woman is his own wife, he vows revenge against Riccardo.

Riccardo decides that the honorable thing to do is to send Renato and Amelia away on a foreign assignment. At the masked ball, he tells her his plan and is bidding her farewell when Renato discovers them together and stabs him. The dying Riccardo affirms Amelia's innocence and forgives Renato. -- www.houstongrandopera.org